The Tale of Genji

by Murasaki Shikibu

If theirs had been a relationship between commoners, who are taught that it’s proper for a man to have no more than one spouse, then anyone who observed this arrangement would naturally sympathize with the wife. However, the situation is a lot more complicated for a man like Niou, whose position is so exalted. Inevitably, as an heir to the throne, he would have to take more than one wife.

Interesting. Monogamy was only for the poor. Royal men were expected to have multiple wives and mistresses. Women of course could not have multiple lovers.

Glancing around, he observed the fallen leaves blanketing the grounds, scattered by autumn winds so fierce that they had stripped bare even the topmost branches of the withered trees.

The colors of the ivy51 vines twining around the ancient mountain trees were still vibrant and made for a delightful scene.

Niou thought her indignant expression utterly adorable and, as a result, he found it impossible to hold a grudge against her transgressions.

I probably transcribed some of these poems incorrectly, but even if I did, as one can see from these examples, none of them had any distinctive or appealing quality.

Ukifune’s mother decided that this Lesser Captain was, among all her daughter’s many suitors, the one whose circumstances were most acceptable. He seems steady of temperament, a man of sound judgment and refined sensibility. No matter how much I might dream, it’s unlikely that anyone of truly superior status would come to a place like this to find a bride. With that in mind, she began passing along the young man’s letters to her daughter and, whenever the occasion called for a reply, would have Ukifune write pleasing responses in turn.

People always look down upon a woman who has lost a parent. That’s just the way the world is.

Tears welled up again as he was speaking, and so, in order to hide his true feelings, he playfully composed the following: If she is a true likeness of the one I knew I’ll keep her near, a purifying doll to stroke Each time I feel the surging rapids of desire14

The Uji Princess replied: Who would believe your vow to keep as close to you As your shadow a doll you’ll stroke from time to time Then cast adrift on the rapids of lustration

“How brave of me to keep coming here, just like the old days, over mountain roads that everyone finds so frightening. It moves me to think that I must be driven by some vow I made with my lost love in a previous life.” As always, tears welled up in his eyes at the memory.

he wondered what, exactly, was the mind-set of people who took such pleasure in this sort of trivial diversion.

The mountainside glinted, sparkling like a mirror in the evening sun.

With her face buried in a pillow that was about to drift slowly away on a flood of tears, Ukifune did not respond, once again embarrassed to think how she must look to her attendants.

For as long as the churning rapids were within earshot, those waters roiled his heart.

Her Majesty smiled as well. “I, for one, admire Kosaishō for recognizing my son’s reprehensible disposition ... though I do wish that somehow he could mend his amorous ways.

IN THOSE days, there was an exceptionally pious priest residing at Yokawa on Mount Hiei1—a certain bishop whose name slips my mind.

Though he was determined to get a better look at her face, the monk was steeling himself just in case this was one of those female demons with no eyes or nose that he had read about in ancient tales.

“She really is quite beautiful, isn’t she! No doubt she was born with such features as a reward for good deeds performed in a previous life.

His suspicions drove him to consider various reasons for Ukifune’s rejection of him, and as he brooded over the possibilities, he could not shake the memory of how he himself had once concealed her from the world with a careless disregard that had left her utterly isolated and forlorn.